Rainy Day Play

With the craptastic weather approaching - and with having a newborn who wants to be held all the time I needed to find some activities for James. My mother in law has been great for taking him to his play group, which he loves, but there are days when we can't play outside or I can't take him.



I decided I would make him a felt play board with shapes ect. I went to Wal Mart and had a hay day! I bought a bunch of different color felt, pom poms, some glue and glitter glue (so far!)  

I love glitter glue! You can do so much with it! We have decorated some plain Christmas bulbs already. James LOVES it

I cut up triangles, circles, squares, rectangles etc for him. He seemed to really like it. I also bought colored Pom Poms and he likes those the best. He likes to count them, sort them into colors and use them with his dump trucks!

I really love that the felt sticks to other felt. No glue needed! He can create a picture then create another one!



He loves the PomPoms - who knew?! I bought a pack of 100 - and have some crafts in mind for Christmas! I also think they are great for learning colors, and counting - which he does!

'Dump Truck Mummy - dirt!"


So many great things you can do with felt

CHEESE

One month old

ONE MONTH!!

 

It's slightly hard to believe my not so 'little' man is a month old today! What a month it has been!

 

Graham is amazing. There is really no other way to explain it. He brings us such joy, and is such a good baby. He is most definitely a Mommas boy. He loves to be held, and never wants to be put down. I don't mind - most days.

  

 

 

At his 3 week check up Graham weighed in at 11lbs 2.5 oz! ** UPDATE** Graham is in fact 12 lbs. Chunky Monkey! I'm going to guess that now at one month he is closer to eleven and a half pounds. He is 23 inches long (I checked today!) and LOVES to eat. Seriously this little man is on the boob most of the day. 

 

We are still co sleeping and I LOVE IT! It is so much easier to nurse him in the middle of the night, and I get a better nights rest when he is in bed with me. We have settled in to a night time routine which is great at 4 weeks!

 

Graham gets a bath every other night - this is usually just after Jimbo is put to bed so around 8 - 8:30 ish - After that we head to bed to nurse. I sometimes put on  movie but most of the time I just lay there with him. We fall asleep around 10:00 sometimes later (growth spurts are a TOTALLY different thing) Then we sleep till about 2:00 - 2:30. He then gets up to have a diaper change and nurses again. Usually taking about an hour or so. Then he is down till about 5:30 - 6:00 - again he is up to have a change and nurse and then he sleeps till about 8:30.

 

I get up around 7:00/7:30 with James to get our day started. Then Graham gets up to nurse and then he is up for the day. 

 



 

 

He takes small cat naps - around 45 minutes each time and then one long 2 hour nap when James goes down. Like I said before this little one does NOT like to be put down, so I either wear him in the Ergo (still trying to figure out my wrap) or I just hold him. He wants to nurse ALL THE TIME! Seriously. I know he is using me as a paci, but i cannot for the life of me get him to take a paci. Chris can, but I can't. Graham probably eats every 1.5 - 2 hours during the day, but then nurses for 2 hours before bed and sleeps! He goes down for another nap around 5:00 ish and sleeps through dinner! Then we are back to our nighttime routine! 

 

Graham is still able to fit into 3 month clothing, but some are getting small - so we have brought out his 6 month clothing. It's crazy how big he is! All his newborn diapers are too small - so I sold them, but right now his Applecheeks are working well. I will admit that we are using disposables with him at night. He is a VERY heavy wetter and leaks at night. I am anxiously waiting for the time when we can use cloth full time and ditch the sposies!

 

Graham is a wonderful addition to our family. We are so very blessed to have him and we all just love him to bits. He makes me smile, and I am.. ugh.. there really isn't any words to describe it. I'm just so in love.

 

 

Much love

xoxo

My Breastfeeding Journey

When James was born, I knew I wanted to breastfeed, for how long? I didn't know.

 

James latched right away - but his latch wasn't great - and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. The first few weeks were TORTURE! I didn't get him to latch on properly while in the hospital, and he made my nips raw and sore. I also had a small crack in it which made feedings terrible. When we got home from the hospital I was a lot more comfortable. I didn't have nurses coming in and watching me... I remember before I would feed James, I would count to 3 then latch him quickly - cringe in pain and then all would be good. That lasted for about 4 weeks. After that it was smooth sailing.

 

I exclusively breastfed James for six months, and then introduced rice cereal - this is something we WILL NOT be doing with Graham. I know more now than I did with James. When James was 15.5 months old - HE decided he was done with nursing. I probably could have stopped giving him cow's milk, but at that point in time I think I was done. Even though I was very sad he stopped. I even tried forcing him for a few days, but to no avail - our breastfeeding time had come to an end.

 

Now, with Graham - I am determined to make it till at LEAST 18 months. We are also going to do Baby Led Weaning (BLW) and NO rice cereal. I'm doing things a little different this time around. I know more than I did with James.

 

So far - Graham is a great little nurser! *Uh is that a word?* I will say I think he has a shallow latch, but he's not hurting my nipples, and is fully draining the breast when he eats. So I don't think there isn't any cause for concern. When we went to see the midwife at 3 weeks - I asked her to watch me nurse to see why Graham would latch, then quickly unlatch and scream - her conclusion - I have a strong let down and I was choking him right out of the gate. He didn't like to be held in the 'standard' cradle hold so now we are doing 'laid back breastfeeding'. Fancy name huh?! All it is, is I lay back reclined slightly, so he doesn't choke on my breast milk. I find it a lot more comfortable as well and he seems to have a deeper latch.

 

I also find he eats really well when lying in bed. But since I can't just lay around all day in there, reclined on the couch works great as well.

 

We are almost a month into breastfeeding (tomorrow he's a month old!) and Graham is gaining weight like no tomorrow - he was born at 9.8 lbs - lost .8 lbs in the first few days. By a week old he gained it all back - a week later he was 10.12 lbs - and at his 3 week check up he was 11 lbs 2.5 oz!

 

I am very happy with his weight gain and I am SO happy that I can provide him with the best possible start in life.

 

I will continue to do updates on our breastfeeding journey. Look for Graham's One Month update tomorrow!

 

 

 

Much love

xoxo

 

 

Wordless Wednesday - My boys

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

I think I did pretty well this year... what am I talking about?? When November rolls around I am so anxious to get the Christmas decorations up it's crazy! last year they were up November 1st. By the end of December I was sick of looking at them. So this year we waited till the 25th of November.

 

Chris and I had a real tree our first year we lived together - not the best idea as we both would forget to put water in the tree stand - and I hated sweeping the needles up. Plus the darn thing stayed in our back yard till APRIL! So when my mom and dad decided to get rid of their fake tree I scooped that one up!

 

 

It's not the largest tree (thank goodness) but I really like the size and shape. Plus it's fit in every place we have ever lived - so that's a good thing It's not like the ones you find these days - you know the ones that just open like an umbrella.. NO.. not this one. It has individual branches you have to put together. It's a real pain in the butt. As you can see my photography skills are lacking. Maybe I will ask Santa for a course! Also, it's decorated fairly sparse - that's because there is a little boy named Jimbo who likes to touch... and throw!

 

 

This year I bought James and Graham new stockings. James does have one that I made him a few years back, but I wanted something new. I wanted something traditional, yet fun. I found these at Winners! They are well made and are super traditional in my opinion! 

Graham's first Stocking!

James' NEW stocking

 I let James pick out which one he wanted... and he wanted Santa! LOVE them!

Also this year we will be leaving cookies and milk as well as a carrot out for Santa and the reindeer. My mother in law bought me this plate last year? I believe. It's super cute and I cannot wait to bake some cookies with James for Santa!

 

 

For James' first Christmas I wanted to find a unique 'first Christmas' ornament. My mother in law and I went to our local Christmas store (Potter's) and this is just ONE of his many first Christmas ornaments. So cute right?? It kind of looks like him. I couldn't resist. It was so stinkin' cute. 

So this year I wanted to get Graham a similar one but of course different. Again, Sandy (MIL) and I went to Potter's and looked and looked and LOOKED! They had some baby's first Christmas ones but they were so.... baby-ish. Then I found THIS!

 

 

Sweet right?!! It's a little angel! I was SO happy to have found it! It even has his eye color! They also both have a little snowman with the year they were born written on the bottom. I couldn't help myself.

I still have some more decorations to put up - I just need to go buy them! We have a banister that needs some Christmas love and I want to make some crafts with James and we also have a Gingerbread House that needs to be assembled! I will take some photos and post them soon!

We are so excited for Christmas this year. We will be taking the boys to see Santa and get their picture taken soon, and I am so thrilled that James understands Christmas a bit more this year!

Tell me - do you have any traditions in your home??

Much love
xoxo

Potty Learning with James *Warning pee and poop are metioned!*

We have finally started to Potty Learn!! Well, Jimbo is potty learning.

 

James is almost 3 (in January) and to be honest, Chris and I thought he would NEVER go on the potty. Well, now he is a pee on the potty kinda guy!

 

When we moved in August, he started to show some interest, and actually did go a few times, but then out of nowhere he refused to go on the potty and would hold it in for HOURS and then would finally let it go all over the house... so we just decided he wasn't ready.

 

I thought maybe it was the type of potty we had for him... we have multiple potty seats as well as actual potties. Finally he started to use the BabyBjorn potty.

 

He would scream when we put him on it, but then would eventually calm down and would do his business. But yet again, he got scared and stopped.



 

 

 

A few days before Graham was born, James started showing interest in his potty again. He would still cry when he sat on it, but it wouldn't take an hour for him to go. We did start to bribe him with M&M's (num nums) and it did work. We would ask every 15 minutes if he had to go and he would tell us. NOW, 3 weeks later he is just going by himself.

We've had a few accidents - like when he sat to go pee with his pants on, because we didn't show him how to pull his pants off. *FAIL* and the ONLY other time was when we went grocery shopping and forgot to put him in his diaper. He fell asleep sitting in the cart, and Chris took him out so he would be more comfortable and James peed all over him... I couldn't help but laugh!

Now going 'for real' as we call it, is a WHOLE other story. James is TERRIFIED to poop on the potty. He's only done it maybe 4 times, and the other times he's done it while sleeping. It's difficult to get him to sit long enough to do it... and then it's the whole sensation I am guessing. But when he does go on the potty he is SO proud of himself. We will get there... soon I hope. After he goes, he washes his hands and then comes RUNNING out to tell us. It's so cute!

I DID IT! I PEED ON POTTY!

James still wears a diaper to bed - well we just bought him pull ups cause I was tired of him wearing an actual diaper. He seems to like the pull ups more, as we say they are his special 'sleep' undies. This morning he woke up dry, and went to the potty as soon as we got out of bed. We went shopping for a few hours and again, he came home dry and peed on his potty. I did ask him if he needed to go and took him to the bathroom but he didn't want to sit on the big potty.

He loves his underwear - seriously! He wants to pick out the ones he wants to wear and I think they are so cute.

Chris and I are SO proud of him. He has come a long way since August! My little baby is now a big boy!!

Much love
xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

My whole life is wrapped up in these boys.  

 

Much love & Happy Wednesday!

 

xoxo

Lovely Pocket Diapers {Newborn Review}

Melissa from Lovely pocket diapers sent me one of her Newborn diapers to test out on Baby Graham! I was so excited to get this opportunity as I have heard a lot of great feedback about LPD!

About Lovely Pocket Diapers:

Melissa and her husband became parents to a daughter in 2010 - and then in 2012 they welcomed their son. Melissa started her cloth diapering journey 2 weeks after her daughter was born. She went with the traditional prefolds and covers. She was hooked! She then started looking into the one size pocket diapers. Like all cloth diaper addicts (myself included) she needed to try them, but couldn't bring herself to spend that kind of money. (hmm sounds like me!) After a ton of research she found a manufacturer to work with and VOILA! Lovely Pocket Diapers was born.

Review:

I was sent a her NEW Newborn sized diaper - in yellow, with some hot red snaps! This is unlike any of Graham's other newborn diapers.

 

 

 

It's an AIO (All in One) STUFFABLE pocket diaper. It has a sewn in microfiber insert and the best part is it has GUSSETS! I LOVE gussets!

This diaper boasts a snap down rise (to fit even the tiniest babes) and it also has a snap down in the front for the cord. This is a feature that I really like. It was nice, as it didn't rub Graham's belly and cause irritation.

To show the unique rise settings

Smallest setting

The diaper fit right from birth, BUT we did have some leaking issues. I don't think it was the diaper itself, it was most likely the fact that while Graham was large, he had/has skinny legs. It did however contain his poop. We had issues with pee leaking, but never any poop-sposions. The gussets did their job. I love a diaper with gussets. I think it makes for a better diaper. Now that Graham is 3 weeks and has put on some more weight we have not had any issues with leaks. I wish I had more of these!

 

Inside of the diaper

Gussets

It washes very well, but does take some time to dry. With the sewn in soaker, I have to dry it a couple of times or air dry for a day and a half.  I sorta wish only one side was sewn in. A really nice feature is that you have the option to add more absorbency to the diaper. I haven't had to add anything yet, but I am thinking I might have to soon. Graham is a HEAVY wetter!

 

Pocket Opening
 



Overall we love this diaper. Graham is pushing 11 pounds and he still has room to grow into it! There area lot of features that I love - but there are some things that I would of liked to have seen. Maybe cross over snaps, and only part of the soaker sewn in. But I still really love this diaper.

Still have some rise snaps that can be undone

Good fit around the legs!

BUY IT: You can purchase your very own Newborn AIO LPD from her website - http://www.lovelypocketdiapers.com/index.html . They retail for $11.00 each which I think is a super fair price. You are going to get some really good use out of this diaper.

Also, be sure to check out her other diapers - I haven't had the chance to use them, but I do believe I will be snagging a couple to try out!

 



Be sure to check Lovely Pocket Diapers on Facebook for any upcoming deals!!



 

Much love

xoxo

Please note I was sent the above mentioned product free of charge to facilitate this review. All opinions are strictly my own and may differ from others. NO monetarty compensatin was exchanged. Please feel free to contact me with any qustions or concerns.